¶ … Royal Beatings," by Alice Munro, displays an interesting relationship between the main character, Rose, and her stepmother, Flo. The depiction of Flo is one in the middle of the two stereotypical extremes one might expect, either the overly-sweet stepmother or the evil stepmother. Flo's character lies somewhere in between; she is both a good mother and a bad mother. Rose, on the other hand, possesses the stereotypical character of the melodramatic young child, who is not afraid of royal beatings, but rather curious about them (Munro 96), and who sees her father's personality as a stage act when he beats her (109), and therefore retaliates with "self-indulgence" (110). The relationship between the two is never one of apathy, but always characterized by either closeness or a struggle for superiority. It is obvious from Rose's musings about Flo's past life that they spend time close enough that they relay personal information. For example, Rose knows that before Flo married Rose's father, she used to be a waitress in a coffee shop in Union Station (103), and that before then she spent time with Barbara Allen and Becky Tyde's father (104). Even the "Back Soon" sign that hangs on the front door...
Despite the sharing of stories and gifts, they also share a sort of challenging rivalry. Flo is prude in nature, "she despised dirty talk" (105) and held a contempt for such ostentatious habits as "trying to be in style" with lipstick, clothes, and permanents (103). Rose, on the other hand, makes mountains out of mole-hills and over-exaggerates problems when there "is not really much the matter" (111). Because these two strong personalities are forced to abide under the same roof, they often come into conflict with one another. Neither female displays any respect for the other's personality, and despite their times (though infrequent) of tranquility, they often goad each other into a fight. Theirs is a wrangle that "has…
Sara Gruen is a Canadian citizen, moved to United States in 1999 for a technical writing job. After she got laid off she decided to be a writer. She is an animal lover and has written famous novels Riding Lessons, Flying Changes, Ape House and Water for Elephants. Main characters of Water for Elephants Jacob Jankowski -- The novel's protagonist. He is a ninety or ninety-three-year-old nursing home resident who spent his
Vandover and the Brute is a book written by Frank Norris who was an admirable writer who used his characters in a way to show how they were influenced and affected by outside sources. The novel, which was written between 1894 and 1895, was first published in 1914 and has become an exceptional text in modern literature. The novel is about the main character, Vandover, who slowly leads his life
7) There are several subplots in the film. The first of these is Felix Happer, the chairman of the board of Knox Oil & Gas, and Mac's boss. He is extremely wealthy and powerful, but psychologically somewhat fragile. In order to help face his problems, Happer engages an "abuse therapist" to hurl various forms of ill treatment at him. He is also interested in furthering his chances of immortality. He
Amy is the main character of the case under study and is facing a problem with Joe who agreed to co-teach with her. The problem that Amy faces is that Joe is not clear about the concept and idea of co-teaching and how it is supposed to be carried out. Moreover Joe says things which hurt Amy and she feels insulted by them. Firstly Amy should realize that she is
October 23rd Big confession here: when I was ten, I had a party at my parent's. Store-bought cake with pink icing, Snoopy paper plates, pinata, games, favor cups, the whole middle-class nine yards. And I liked it. 8. November 3rd My dad says I'm changing. While slurping his spaghetti this evening he couldn't understand why I wasn't that excited about some dumb award he won for an article he published in a
Antonia, the main character of the novel My Antonia. My Antonia The magnum opus, My Antonia is a well-composed masterpiece by the eminent author Willa Cather who is well-known for her scholarly depiction of life in the frontiers (Back cover). The distinguished novelist in her masterwork My Antonia has portrayed the strong personality as well as the persisting qualities of a young Bohemian girl named Antonia who migrated from United States
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